Beautiful Waiheke Island Welcomes Harcourts

Beautiful Waiheke Island Welcomes Harcourts

22 July 2004

One of New Zealand’s most popular destinations, Waiheke Island, this month saw the rebranding of a successful independent real estate office to Harcourts colours. Having run Waiheke Property Shop for four years, owner Judy Morgan said in today’s market, “it’s no longer good enough to be independent” with clients expecting an international approach and level of professionalism.

Ms Morgan noted that dramatic changes had occurred on the Island in the last decade. “We’ve gone from baches with long-drops to million dollar houses.” The steady population of 7,000 swells as high as 30,000 over holidays with the 35 minute ferry ride to Auckland making it attractive for city commuters to reside on the Island. The Mediterranean-like climate has also resulted in an increasing number of award winning vineyards and olive groves.

Ms Morgan said as part of her business research she spent two months contacting every major real estate brand not operating on the Island and found, “Harcourts was head and shoulders above the rest as far as training and systems and was the top real estate group in a website search.”

CEO of Harcourts New Zealand, Bryan Thomson, said Waiheke Island was a key market in New Zealand and one of the most rapidly growing marketplaces. “With many clients who either own or wish to own a Waiheke property and demanding a local Harcourts presence there, we had been looking for experienced and respected local representation for some time.”

He added, “We were delighted to be approached by the Waiheke Property Shop as like us, they believe our Harcourts Academy training and professional development resources will be a huge growth opportunity for their team as well as enhancing their existing client service.”

“The opening of Harcourts Waiheke fills another gap in our nationwide network and signals another significant step forward in our growth in the critical Auckland marketplace”.
ENDS

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